Five Indians including Dhoni, Ishant nominated for ICC awards

New Delhi, Sept 8 (UNI) World number one Mahendra Singh Dhoni will lead the country in the ICC awards to be announced on September 12 in Dubai, as the Indian captain has been nominated for the ODI player and the Twenty20 International performance of the year while speedster Ishant Sharma will compete in the emerging player's category.

The International Cricket Council CEO Haroon Lorgat announced the nominations here today in which four Indian players were shortlisted.

Dhoni along with master blaster Sachin Tendulkar will fight for the ODI player of the year for which Australian pacer Nathan Bracken and Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf have also been shortlisted.

Dhoni and his deputy Yuvraj Singh, who was a major force for India during the Twenty20 World Cup, have a tough challenge for the ICC Twenty20 performance of the year as they are up against West Indies' Chris Gayle and Australian speedster Brett Lee in the same category.

Not surprisingly, Ishant Sharma, who has been one of the best finds for India in recent years, has been nominated for the emerging player of the year which also has Sri Lanka's spin sensation Ajantha Mendis, Stuart Broad of England and South African Morne Morkel.

Dhoni, who has played crucial innings for his side during the voting period, is a strong contender for the two awards that he has been shortlisted for. The Indian captain has been very consistent which also reflected in his team's overall performance this year.

Under Dhoni's captaincy, India won the inagural ICC Twenty20 World Cup in South Africa, won a tri series in Australia which also included Sri Lanka as the third team. He recently took his team to a series win against Sri Lanka where he was chosen 'man of the series' for his batting.

Sachin Tendulkar staked his claim for the award as he emerged as the highest run getter in ODI's this year scoring 1310 runs.

Meanwhile, West Indies' Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawerdene, South Africa's Graeme Smith and Dale Steyn were nominated for the Cricketer of the year.

However, neither India nor Australia, two of the leading cricket playing nations, could find a place in the nominations for Spirit of the Game award.

Australia's Simon Taufel will be up against Mark Benson, Aleem Dar, Steve Davis and Rudi Kuertzon for the Umpire of the year, the award which he has won four times in a row.

The short-lists for the men's awards have been compiled after votes were submitted by a 25-person panel from around the world, made up of renowned former players, respected members of the media, and an elite umpire and match referee.

The panel members were asked to vote for players nominated by a Selection Panel chaired by former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd.

The ICC Awards ceremony is now in its fifth year and for the first time it will be staged in Dubai. Previous ceremonies were held in London (2004), Sydney (2005), Mumbai (2006) and Johannesburg (2007).

In addition to these awards this year's Awards will also feature the selection of the Test and ODI Teams of the Year.

The shortlists for the ICC Awards 2008 are as follows: Cricketer of the Year Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Mahela Jayawardena, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn.

Test Player of the Year Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Mahela Jayawardena, Jacques Kallis, Dale Steyn.

ODI Player of the Year Nathan Bracken, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Yousuf.

Emerging Player of the Year Stuart Broad, Ajantha Mendis, Morne Morkel, Ishant Sharma.

Associate Player of the Year Ryan ten Doeschate, Alex Obanda, Niall O'Brien, Thomas Odoyo.

Twenty20 International Performance of the Year Chris Gayle, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Brett Lee, Yuvraj Singh Women's Player of the Year Nicola Browne, Charlotte Edwards, Lisa Sthalekar, Claire Taylor.

Spirit of Cricket Bangladesh, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies.

Umpire of the Year Mark Benson, Aleem Dar, Steve Davis, Rudi Koertzen, Simon Taufel.

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